These symptoms and feelings are part and parcel of
grieving, but the process is complicated by other factors. One
of these is gender, and it was obvious that the males and
females grieved differently in our family. The females clung
together, talked and cried and consoled each other. There was
a high degree of empathy between them. The two males trod
a lonelier path. I did much of my crying on my own, although
I was always willing to talk about how I was. I had this,
probably misguided, feeling that my children had enough to
do to cope with their own grief. I was also aware that they
watched us closely, and I could see how worried they were
about their mother. The pain of one family member,
especially the mother, affects all the other members of the
family. Grief ebbs and flows among the members, and
allowances must be made for this.
When a Child Dies. Footsteps of a Grieving Family. Published by Veritas